Bernicia is strengthening its pledge to help care leavers into housing and employment by supporting the national Care Leaver Covenant.
The covenant is a promise made by private, public and voluntary sectors to provide support for care leavers aged 16-25 to help them live independently.
Our commitment covers two key strands of living independently. It offers additional support for care leavers who rent our properties and help for those seeking work.
Our team of employability experts work closely with care leavers, helping young people with employment advice, work experience, job applications and interviews. The support provided also increases the skills and knowledge needed to hold down a job and manage financial affairs and domestic arrangements.
It also guarantees interviews for care leavers applying for work and apprenticeship opportunities at Bernicia.
The covenant commitment in National Care Leavers’ Week follows on from Bernicia becoming the first organisation outside the public sector to become a signatory of the Northumberland County Council pledge to help young people leaving care achieve their ambitions.
Read more below about how our employability team is helping one determined care leaver – who we’ve called Jack to protect his identity – to build his confidence, grow his life chances and secure the job he wants.
Jack’s story
The Bernicia employability team has been working with care leaver Jack for over a year, supporting him with career development and pastoral care.
He was referred through Bernicia’s involvement with Northumberland County Council’s Employment Training and Education Clinic for care leavers.
The team supported him with an apprenticeship interview and took the decision that an apprenticeship wasn’t right for him at that time.
They instead worked with Jack on his CV and his interview skills and techniques to equip him with the knowledge needed to gain future employment.
Such was Jack’s hard work on his college course, that he won student of the year after being nominated by his tutor.
Underlying Jack’s determination to build a career for himself, was financial hardship. Bernicia had already found him a place to live. But after paying his bills, he was left with only £10 per week for food and on multiple occasions accessed Bernicia’s hardship fund to help heat and light his home.
The team supported Jack with counselling sessions to tackle underlying trauma he had experienced in his life, even taking him shopping to ensure his kitchen cupboards are stocked and he is living well.
Jack was supported by the employability team to access a work experience opportunity with a kitchen firm and then successfully secured him a place on the New Start employability programme.
They drew up a payment plan with a new mobile phone provider to rid him of debt and give him extra peace of mind.
“Jack’s placement programme has gone exceptionally well and we’ve had fantastic feedback from his manager and mentor,” said Jackie Johnson, Bernicia Employability Manager.
“He is going to be on a journey with us for some time to come. He’s had a difficult time and is working through how to deal with this. It’s a huge learning curve for my team but the thing with Jack is he wants to work, he wants to be the best version of himself and he’s prepared to push himself.
“Jack is thriving on the relationship we’ve built. He wants a better life and recognises the opportunity he has. He just needs a little bit of help to get there.”
Picture shows Bernicia’s employability team left to right: Jackie Johnson, Luke Dargie and Elaine Hardington.
